Blood is Thicker than Water
by seasidelady
Summary: So that she would not cause problems for the Family, Xanxus's half-sister is shipped off to Japan, where she will join Sawada Iemitsu's family. A sky as bright as day and another as dark as night. People are not what you expect them to be. BigBrother!Xanxus Strong!Tsuna No character bashing! Kinda!Crack rated M for later chapters
1. His Start

Summary: So that she would not cause problems for the Family, Maria is shipped off to Japan, where she will join Sawada Iemitsu's family. When two skies converge, what are the results? BigBrother!Xanxus Strong!Tsuna No character bashing!

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 **Warning:** Sorta incest in later chapters. Sorta Self-Insert but not really.

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 **Disclaimer:** _I do not own KHR. I do own my SI Maria and any other ocs i decide to add._

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Vongola Nono smiled at the small bundle in the young boy's arms. The boy's scowl seemed to be permanently glued onto his face, red eyes evading the Ninth's as he tried to look at the bundled up little girl. Just a while ago, a woman came stating that Xanxus, the young boy, was his illegitimate son; that he was the heir to becoming Vongola Decimo. He could not say no to the impressionable child, nor could he reject the little bundle that was his supposed half-sister he carried in his small arms.

"Get them away from her!" Xanxus growled, trying to keep the maids away even as the bundle started to cry. A high, piercing wail, situated to a hungry baby or a change of diapers. The maids attempting to take the baby from Xanxus paused, looking to their boss.

 _A protective boy concerning his family_ , Nono thought, nodding his head in approval. He walked until he was standing right in front of the panicked boy, smiling calmly at him. "Xanxus, if you will, the servants in the house would be glad to help you. I've called someone in to escort you to you and your sister's room." He informed the boy.

Xanxus snarled at the guards, clutching the baby closer to him. The scowl disappeared when the baby cried louder, Xanxus attempting to calm her. Nono thought he vaguely heard him whisper for his mom, only remembering she was gone and they were with him before steeling his face in resolution. "Where's my room."

 _It was a start_ , Nono thought.

.

Xanxus, in his overly large room decorated with extravagant features, cleared his face of any emotion. He let the one-year old play with his fingers, stuffing them into her mouth or just looking at them in amazement.

"Yeah, yeah," Xanxus muttered carelessly, wiggling his fingers at her. She squealed in happiness, stuffing them once more into his mouth. He could feel her only two teeth biting down, but she still wasn't that strong. "Stop." Her mouth stopped moving, and Xanxus looked at her in confusion. "Hn." She started to chew on his finger once more. At his look, she pulled it out, reaching for his face.

Xanxus pulled her closer, letting her chubby little hands play with his nose, his ears, touch his hair. He smiled softly, poking her nose. He smiled when she followed his finger, going cross-eyed before she closed her eyes and shook her head. _Like a cat_ , he thought.

"It's just us kid. No more mom to tell us stories or sing you to sleep. We're in the mafia now, got it? Its only you and me, and probably my dad. No holding back, alright?" Red eyes stared at dirty red, the spell broken only when the babe fell over and began to cry. "Good. As long as you understand."

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"XAAAAANXUUUUUUS!" A high-pitched voice shrieked. Vongola Nono, known to his family and Famiglia as Timoteo, sighed. He felt as if he should be used to this- he'd raised four sons and a daughter to adulthood. What more would another seven year old do that he hadn't already witnessed in his other children?

Had it already been five years since Xanxus and Maria appeared in his life? Indeed, Xanxus forbade anyone going near Maria while she was still toddling around, but he couldn't stop her from going to them herself. She had called Nono _'Papa'_ which made him swell with pride even if he only officially adopted Xanxus.

Xanxus was also proud to be the son of Vongola Nono, but wanted Maria to dream of her mother as a woman who died protecting her children. Timoteo didn't know whether to be concerned or relieved that he allowed the small girl a fantasy. Letting her find out that her mother was a prostitute and pathological liar would break her heart.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAA! XANXUS! STOP HIM!" Maria screamed from somewhere down the hall. Her shrieks were echoed by the sound of (expensive) glass breaking and sounds of distress from the help.

Timoteo sighed. He knew it was a good idea to put that second house to use. Although he'd hardly see his little _bambina_ , it would be nice to save money from all the repairs done to the mansion. Xanxus would be leading the new Varia, and his recruits were already arriving. In fact, the current problem was one who called himself Prince. Balthazar, was it?

.

Outside, said girl was running away from the deranged self-proclaimed prince who kept throwing knives at her. She screamed Xanxus' name again, hoping he'd hear her, before she bumped into someone.

"Oh my, what a cute little girl we have~!" A happy voice exclaimed. She felt strong arms pick her up, setting her onto her feet.

"T-tha…" Her voice choked when she caught sight of the teen staring at her, his bright green hair sticking up. There was a strange look in his eye, too…The girl blinked, taking a deep breath, and then screamed. "XAAAAAAAAAANXUUUUUUUUUS!"

"Uwah!" The flamboyant teenager stumbled back, leaving enough space for the small girl to run through. She noticed the blonde from earlier right behind her once more, deciding to try to run even _faster_ to get away from all the crazy.

"VOI! What's with all this fucking screaming!?" Maria came upon a familiar silver-haired teenager she recognized as her brother's (best) friend. What scared her was the naked sword in his hand. Stifling her scream, she dodged past him, dancing out of his reaching hands and straight into her older brother's.

"What's with the screaming?" Xanxus asked her blandly, looking at the small cuts and scrapes on her skinny body. He would have to get her some new clothes again, the ones she had were getting too small.

"There are creeps _everywhere_! Some prince guy, and he's the same age as me but he still gets to play with knives, was chasing me, and at first I thought it was fun and we were playing tag, but then he started _throwing_ the knives! Can you believe it!? Then I run into this weirdo and it looked like he wanted to eat me! But that was after some creep-o with a stupid face tried to catch me for screaming your name all over the place! And then Squalo said a bad word! _He said a bad word!_ Do something Xanxus!" Maria was out of breath by the time she finished her rant, her voice breaking every other word. Her throat was sore, and her face red from all the running.

"I'll take care of it," Xanxus simply said, glaring at all the listed creeps his little sister had described. "Go pack your bags, we're moving."

"We're moving!? What about Papa!?" The little girl in his arms was wide-eyed and open-mouthed. He could see millions of other questions in her eyes, but chose instead to explain little.

"We can still visit Nono. But right now, we need a bigger house. We have a new group now; the Varia," Xanxus explained, shifting his hold on her.

"Eh? Like a new family and stuff? Why can't we all live here!?"

"Hn." His eyes narrowed.

"I can always fix it!"

Xanxus scoffed.

"But glue and duct tape work all the time!"

"Hn." His eyebrow ticked.

"What about Papa!? He'll get lonely!"

"…" He had given up and just given the younger girl a blank stare.

"Fine! But it doesn't mean I have to like it!" The girl squirmed out of Xanxus' hold, freezing at the sight of all the weirdoes she had encountered. She quickly ran away, her shriek of fright fading the farther she got.

"…Boss?" Levi asked uncertainly, looking at the red-eyed teenager meekly.

"Fuck all you worthless pieces of trash. That's my fucking little sister. One wrong move and you're dead." Xanxus walked away calmly, the promise of death in his eyes, his voice, and the way he moved perfectly true.

"…!" Levi collapsed in a dead faint, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Lussuria had gasped dramatically, a hand to his forehead exclaiming about sibling love. Belphegor chuckled and muttered something about a princess before stalking off somewhere. Squalo scowled, walking away from what he deemed the idiots.

.  
"Why do you make your hair cover your eyes?" Maria asked her companion, trying to catch his eyes through his fringe.

"Ushishishi, because I allow it to." His grin was wide and full of too many teeth, unnerving Maria a little. She was nothing but stubborn, though, and pouted at the prince.

"That's not an answer," She grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at him. Belphegor was reminded of the look Xanxus constantly had on his own face. He suppressed a shiver at the thought of his boss's fury directed at him. "You better not give answers like that to _fratello_. He might throw something at your head, and you're too pretty to get hurt."

Bel blinked, not that it could be seen through his fringe. "Pretty?" He grit out, frowning at the grinning girl.

"Yeah. Your hair looks really nice and soft, and you're skinny just like me! You look like a princess." She smiled, a dimple appearing in her right cheek.

"Princes are handsome and regal. I am not _pretty_." Clearing out that misconception, Bel stood and made to leave.

"Wait! Come play with me in the garden, yeah? The narcissus are in bloom and they look really pretty, and don't you think that we should cut some to put in the roo-. Bel! Wait!"

.

.

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"Y-young boss's sister!" It was the creep who was obsessed with her brother, the Levi A. Than guy.

"Creeper," the only girl in the Varia acknowledged (let it be known that she worked her ass off due to her _fratello_ being a giant meanie who didn't let her have her way of being a lazy civilian thankyou very much). "What are you doing away from Xanxus?" She asked, skirting around him to try and head into the kitchens.

"I'm running a very important errand!" He exclaimed, eyes starry and full of awe. "Boss is dehydrated, and so requested that I fetch him some drinks. The vintage wine has not yet been shipped in, so I will be going to retrieve the finest quality." His eyes locked onto her form, freezing her in her tracks.

"…" Maria eyed him, waiting for her cue to run.

"Do you need anything from the market?" Levi finally asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Hah?" She covered her mouth, frowning at the unladylike sound that she'd made. "I-uh…" Her mind scrambled to try and take advantage of this opportunity. "There is a new game that is out- Pokemon I believe? I'd also like some energy drinks, the Beast brand if you could. Something sweet from the bakery, nothing too chocolatey if you would." Smiling slightly, Maria waved at the teen scribbling into his notepad, slipping through the doors and into the kitchen.

Finally.

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"Hey Xanxus, am I a princess?"

"What?" The teen looked up from his paperwork, massaging the bridge of his nose. He took in his little sister, sprawled out on the carpet behind his desk. "Repeat that."

"Am I a princess?" Maria asked again, looking up at him from her position. "Papa's like, the king of mafia right? I also heard people calling Antonia _principessa_ , and since she's called princess, then does that make me one, too?"

Xanxus looked back at his papers, the words blurring together. Sighing, he threw them back onto his desk, grabbing the glass of wine he'd set aside. "Depends," he finally answered, waiting until she looked back at him. "Do you think you are one?"

"Well," Maria hesitated, curling herself up into a ball and facing Xanxus. "Enrico told me that you're Papa's son, and that I don't share the same blood as him. He said that I only share half of my blood with you." Her slanted eyes, oval face, and vague Asian features did contrast from his own strong European looks.

"You're my sister, and nothing will change that," Xanxus stressed. "If I'm a prince, then you're a fucking princess. If you want, you can even be the fucking queen."

"Language!" Maria scolded, then giggled at the look on his face.

"If anyone gives you shit about not being related to Nono, then come to me."

"Okay, Xanxus." Smiling, Maria uncurled herself, standing up and hopping towards Xanxus. "I'll leave you to your work. Love you!" With a peck on his cheek, the younger girl raced out of the room.

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"Bel! Xanxus said that I am _so_ a princess! That means we can get married and stuff!"

"Ushishishi! That's good- we can take over London then as the new monarchs!"

"Like the butterfly?"

"Ushishi. Sure."

"Hey hey. _Sorella_ Luss told me that if someone tried to take your boyfriend or something, then to beat the crap out of them. Something about fighting to prove your worth and a dragon. Do I have to fight people to marry you?"

"Maybe. The prince doesn't need anyone to fight for him."

"What if it's another princess? I need to fight to prove my dominance as alpha princess."

"Shishi. You've been watching those animal documentaries without me?"

"Nevermind that. What if a stronger prince comes to try to marry me?"

"No prince is stronger than me."

"But what about-,"

"Boss doesn't count. He's more like a… a king."

" _Fratello…_ a king?"

"Yes. Back to the subject though… I would have to fight other contenders to the death, then give you their hearts served on a platter."

"Eew. Can't you just send me flowers?"

"It's tradition, _Principessa_."

"Y-you called me-…!"

"Ushishishi."

"Bel! You're awesome!"

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"Why can't I go to regular school? Why do I have to go to Private School?" Maria whined, dragging her feet behind her brother and his right-hand. "Elissa from the park said that in regular school they did different subjects. I have to take etiquette classes, and she doesn't. I don't like etiquette."

"Stop complaining," Xanxus scolded, looking down at his sister. "I thought princesses had etiquette or some shit when ruling the country."

"Yeah, those are frilly princesses." Maria scrunched up her nose, frowning in distaste. "I wanna be a warrior princess, like Nonna Daniela. She even showed me her old crossbow!"

"You're in the Varia, Maria. Take those classes as something you could use on a mission, like infiltration," Squalo said, stopping the short girl from continuing her rant. "Varia quality means using whatever you have and can get your hands on. That includes etiquette classes."

"Wooow. Squalo, you're so cool." Maria looked up at the silver-haired swordsman, eyes shining in awe. "Like can I use my hair as a rope if I braid it to choke someone wi-."

"Squalo! What are you teaching this little girl!?"

Maria looked around, discovering that her brother had left her and Squalo behind and disappeared to wherever he was supposed to go. She refrained from pouting, knowing he was busy and would check on her once they were back home.

"I'm teaching things that's none of your business, Cavallone." Squalo huffed at the pout on the blonde's face, shuffling Maria in front of him. "Kid, meet the Cavallone heir, Dino. This is Vongola's Maria."

"Aah, nice to meet you!" Maria took in his nice blonde hair and his hazel eyes, admiring his charming smile.

"N-nice to meet you," she stuttered, her face feeling hot. "Does that mean you're a prince?" She asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

Dino laughed, standing straight. "I guess so!" The three began walking, Dino stumbling every now and then. "How old are you _ragazzina_?"

Maria felt her face grow hotter, looking up to Squalo to try and get him to answer. He merely arched a brow at her, looking back towards the school. "I-I'm seven. It's almost my birthday, though…"

The conversation died as they entered the school, Dino and Squalo dropping her off at her class and then continuing to their own. Maria smiled. She found another prince that she wanted to marry!

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"Xanxus! I met Dino Cavallone today! He's soooo pretty." Xanxus looked at the girl sprawled out once more on his carpet. "He's even a prince, too!"

"The kid's a wimp. He falls all over the place and breaks plenty of shit." He rolled his eyes at her scoff, putting down his paperwork. "Looks like a prince without any of the qualities of one."

"H-He stumbles a little, sure, but he should be smart, right? He's in the same class as Squalo!"

" _Passerotta_ ," he began, using the nickname father had given her because of her bird-like qualities, "he fell every two minutes when I saw him. When he ate, he made a mess of himself, the food, and his surroundings. The man is a giant mess waiting to happen." The Cavallone heir also refused to run the Family, which Xanxus found cowardly and stupid.

"I-I like him, though!"

Xanxus froze, licks of flame struggling to free themselves from his fingertips. He quickly quashed them, turning to look at his sister once he was under control. "Maria."

"Y-yes…?" _Merda_ \- her eyes were watering, probably having sensed how tightly held his anger was.

"I'm not mad at you," he explained, beckoning her closer. She scrambled into his lap, looking up at him with eyes more brown than red. "You are too quick to decide who you like. You need to assess the person you wish to involve yourself with, to determine whether or not they are worthy of your time." He thought of more things to tell her, like befriending certain people would bring harm to her and the family if they decided to make connection. He thought of people using her and leaving her broken, of people taking advantaged of her trusting heart.

"Xanxus…?"

"Do not be so quick to trust, Passerotta." He said, sighing at the tiny nod she gave him. "Here, I have your first mission result. Being the leader of your group of infiltrators brought good results. Be proud."

"Because I'm _la passera_! The Sparrow!" She smiled, big and full of teeth with a dimple in her right cheek. "I work best with people, yeah?"

"You're a good leader," Xanxus affirmed, pushing her off his lap to stand. "Let's go. I'm bringing you to Nonna for tea, then she'll have one of Nono's guardians drop you back here."

"Okay." She hugged his waist, standing on his feet as he awkwardly walked out. "I love you, Xanxus."

For Maria, Xanxus would destroy anything. He would protect her from anyone and everything, even his own _Family_.

.

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"W-what's going on…?" Maria asked, looking at her older brother's Vice-Captain.

"I'm doing you a huge favor, Maria," Ottavio said, pulling her along Varia HQ's halls. "I really dislike getting little girls involved in the affairs of stupid men, and Vongola Nono adores you. Something's happened, and Xanxus and the Ninth really want you to be safe, okay?"

"W-what?"

Ottavio cursed himself in his head. He was good at charming and smooth-talking people, but children were just too honest and naïve. "We need to get you to safety. Your Nonna Ottavo is waiting with her guardians to take you, so you need to go, okay?"

"O-Ottavio, wait!"

"Quick!" He hissed, shoving her into the waiting car. Her Nonna's guardian, old mister Ambrogio who didn't really look old but looked like a teenager, grabbed hold of her as the car started moving.

"Nonna! What's happening!?" She cried out, struggling out of Ambrogio's hug.

"Hush now, Maria. Everything will be explained later, alright? We're travelling to our house in Sicily, so go to sleep." With a nod to her Rain guardian, Giada, who looked just as old as she did, Maria was poked with Rain flames, and fast asleep.

.

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"They took her Xanxus. I could not stop them fast enough."

Xanxus said nothing, the flames of his rage only growing hotter the longer he stood.

"Our plans don't change. We go and storm the Vongola now."

.

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Timoteo entered the room his mother and her guardians were gathered in, lines of stress etched into his face. Coyote Nougat, the only of his guardians not injured from the fight, trailed in behind him.

"And? How did things go?"

"I put Xanxus on ice, if that's what you're asking. Their coup has failed."

Ambrogio offered a chair to him, which he gladly took.

"Maria is safe and fine, thankyou for asking. She's been in and out of sleep. Giada may have used too strong flames when we calmed her."

Timoteo merely shot his mother a look, which she responded with a glare. "Mother-,"

"Oh no. You cared for her for five years while she was under your roof. Even if you never officially adopted her like you did Xanxus, she still called you father. You cannot take away another grandchild of mine, even if she is not our blood."

"Xanxus was the world for her. She needs safety and stability; things that being in the Varia did not give her. Where I am sending her, she will be safe. Antonia will hopefully birth a new heir now that my three sons are gone." He held himself from choking up. His three eldest were foolish, and maybe a bit spoiled, but he loved them. He loved Xanxus, too, but could not give him his wanted title.

"How do you know Antonia will birth an eligible heir? The heir will need to be a Sky, which none of Antonia's children have the possibility of showing. They are all too much like their lightning father. How do you know that Maria will be safe, wherever you are sending her ah? _Do not disappoint me more than you already have, Timoteo_."

"Iemitsu has already agreed to house Maria with his family in Japan, mother." Timoteo stood, beckoning to Coyote to follow him. "I'll collect Maria and bring her with Iemitsu to Japan. She will be safe."

Daniela frowned as her son left the room, closing her eyes and shaking her head slowly. "That boy. Now that the one who was taking care of her has gone, he decides to send her far off to where she won't make trouble for the family."

"Daniela…?"

"Giada, Ambrogio, look into Iemitsu's database and see if you can uncover his address. I would like to be able to send packages and gifts to my granddaughter while I'm still alive. Letters from Italy to that address may be screened, but packages should be acceptable, no?"

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" _Anata_ …" Nana looked to the sleeping girl on the futon laid out next to her Tsuna's bed. She looked so peaceful, her long, dark hair spread out like vines. "Are we really able to take care of another child? Do-do you think I would be able to take care of her? I can't even understand what she says…"

For the longest time, Nana felt confidence in herself. She was married to a nice, strong, handsome man who worked to provide for her and their son. They lived in a large house in a nice suburban neighborhood. She made the best food in the town, rivalled only by the Yamamoto's sushi place and the Nakatsukasa's bakery.

Of course she had doubts once in a while about what her husband was doing so far from home (and her), but her faith was strong in him.

Him coming home after two years of not seeing him, of only hearing his voice, and he brings along his boss and a stranger's child.

"This is Maria. I was hoping we could take her in," He told her, and she couldn't help but panic about this child being his illegitimate daughter. He soothed those worries, but would not explain how he came to have custody of her.

"Darling?" She asked, turning to look at him. She found his eyes locked on Tsuna's form, soft and full of love. She smiled softly, leaning back against his chest.

"Maria's in the process of learning Japanese," her husband finally answered her, leading her out of the room and towards the kitchen. "She was raised by her older brother, who worked with my company. He's… he's gone now, and she couldn't stay in the environment her brother had her in. My boss, the one who visited, he's the one who asked me to take her in."

"Do you think I'll do a good job raising her, though?" She asked, not able to keep her worries held.

"Nana," Iemitsu breathed, leaning forward and hugging her tight to his chest. She loved this man so much. Maybe too much, even. "You've done a wonderful job raising our Tsunayoshi. I have no doubts that you'll do just as amazing with Maria." He leaned back, looking into her eyes with nothing but love. "We've always wanted more children, right? What do you think of our new daughter?"

"Iemitsu," she smiled, tears forming at the corner of her eyes, "really? Do you think Sawada Maria sounds right? Oh, she's so adorable… do you think you can find baby pictures maybe?"

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As long as his family (both his family and his Famiglia) was happy, Iemitsu would do anything for them (even if it was taking in a young girl who had the potential for strong Sky flames into a household where his own son exhibited Sky flames of his own).

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"Hello," Maria mumbled, her Italian accent thick.

"H-Hello," Tsuna replied, shuffling his feet back and forth.

The two locked eyes, honey brown meeting red brown. A small, genuine smile grew on their faces, hands reaching out to each other.

Bright orange flames ignited where they touched, enveloping them in a searing warmth.

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 _Hello Tsunayoshi. I am your future.  
_ _Hello Maria. I am your past.  
_ _We're here to help._

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 **AN:** And this is the start of my first story in several years! Woo! If you find any errors, don't be afraid to kindly let me know, yeah? I've been writing this late at night, and it's running along the lines of another story I wrote a while ago but never got around to posting. This is a revised edition. Sorta.  
An explanation for why Nono took in Maria with Xanxus instead of making him leave her with their mother- I don't really have one. Maybe their mother was put into a separate house, where she was quietly disposed of because of reasons? I have it all in my head, it's just hard to put it to paper (or the equivalent of yeah?).

don't forget to review!


	2. Their Start

**Warning:** weird thoughts, perverted ghosts, and personality changes.

author's note at the bottom~

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Nana is a proud, proud parent.

Now a lot of other parents can claim the same, but only she can claim to have raised the best son and daughter in the world (shut up, so what if she's biased, she's ranked number one in the Omelets category in the Namimori cooking contest, deal with it).

Maria and Tsuna are very good, caring teenagers. Tsuna is thirteen and catching up to his older sister in height. Maria is soon to turn 15, average in height for Japanese women but short for her own Italian background. They showered Nana with love and concern, always helpful around the house and mindful of her.

She feels truly blessed to have been given the chance to have them. She loves spending mother daughter times with Maria; going shopping with her, gossiping about her love interests at school, and just being girls. She teaches her to cook (even if she can only cook simple foods but bake elaborate desserts), sew (mainly cosplay, but she also sews her own clothes), and even how to manage a household (with the hope that Nana would one day become a grandmother to many many children).

Tsuna, Nana gifts with her past. _"Don't tell your father,"_ she says to him one day, bringing him to the old dojo at the edge of the town. _"I used to teach here when I was in college. I quit when I met your Dad at the café I worked part-time at. My extended family still teaches here, and if you want, you can learn."_ Tsuna had been eight at the time, with skinny arms and knobby legs that led to bullies at the primary school picking on him. He accepted after a minute of looking at the place, smiling at her with such gratitude her heart nearly overfilled with emotion.

Maria later learns that he is taking lessons at the dojo, and demands to take part. Her two children had squabbled until her daughter settled for taking Aikido at Wei Liu's Self-Defense Center. They constantly competed with one another, going so far as to have mock-fights in the backyard. One time, her daughter even suggested they fight in costume, which both she and Tsuna quickly donned (from some fighting game that she couldn't recall the name of).

Apparently, the video they'd taken was famous in the Cosplay Community (she could only pray to Amaterasu that her daughter would not go into the sketchy parts of that intimidating place).

Nana remembers how Tsuna was once such a shy boy, comparing him then to the confident, strong-willed young man he became. Having a sibling really did wonders for him, Nana muses. Maybe, once Iemitsu came back for a longer time, they could try for a third?

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Having a ghost from your future hanging around your shoulder really changed things for you, Tsuna thought. Sure, his ghost sometimes looked at his older sister like a starving man looks at food, and sure he mumbled things under his breath that sounded like curse words in different languages, but ghost!Tsuna was really great at things!

" _Tsuna, sit straight, would you? Your posture is horrible- no, no, stretch your arms like this!"_

Okay, so ghost!Tsuna (who he referred to as Yoshi) was kind of annoying, in that old man who nags at kids kind of way. But he really was a great teacher when the situation called for it.

 _"Now Tsuna, this lesson is called 'Lying Through Your Teeth and Keeping a Straight Face'. Listen well, because I'll be bullshitting you throughout the lesson, and you need to tell whether or not I'm lying."_

His favorite lesson had been 'Cursing in Different Languages', which helped raised his grades in English by a large percentage. His ghost counterpart still managed to curse in languages he did not know (but would one way or another find out). He liked cursing in German for some reason.

With Yoshi dogging his every step, Tsuna never feels lonely. Maybe nee-chan feels the same with him whenever he follows her? He'll ask her some other time.

"Tsuna!" Said teen was knocked out of his thoughts, Yoshi's rambling halting as they turned to the girl who barged into their room. "I need to take your measurements!"

"Measurements?" Tsuna asks, eyes wide and sounding more than a little confused. "For what?"

Maria huffs, stalking forward with a tape measure in her hands. "You didn't want to work in the café for the school cultural festival, remember?" She pulls him up, making him spread his arms out so she could measure them. "So Class Prez gave you the ultimatum of either cooking, which I'm already gonna do, or walking around advertising. You chose to advertise."

"Wait, so why am I being measured if I just need to pass out flyers?"

"You're cosplaying? Which is what our block is doing? Ring any bells?" He ignores that she rolls her eyes at him, trying to remember the class meeting instead.

"What am I going to cosplay?" He asks instead, something in his head ringing alarm bells at him. "And 'block'?"

"You really don't remember? Were you sleeping in class again?" She narrows her eyes at him while he tries in vain not to catch her gaze. "…"

"…"

"Our building block B combined pairs of classes; first years with second years. They're doing the same thing in blocks A and C because of limited budgeting. I hear Hibari-sempai is doing something about the short funds." He hummed to let her know he got it.

"So what am I cosplaying again?"

"Ugh," Maria groans, frowning at him. "You're going to be a maid, you dork. Turn around for me, yeah?"

"What? Why a maid?"

"You have the potential to be a trap, I think. At least, that's what Kurokawa said." He ignored that his sister's butt was currently being ogled by his ghost self. Nope. He couldn't kill ghosts because they were already dead. Ignooooooore….

"Why are you so close to the girls in my class?" He asks instead, narrowing his own eyes at her.

"Girls run the world," she answers, nodding her head sagely. "Tomorrow, I'm going to be your older brother. Call me nii-chan, okay?"

"Are you still nee-chan today, though?"

She nods, marking down his final measurements on a paper. "I'm gonna get started on sewing our costumes. I've got so many to make, ugh…"

A thought pops into his head. "Hey, wait!" He calls, and his sister pauses at the door.

"What is it? I'm busy."

"Didn't you get confessed to by Okamura-san from 3-A? How did that go?" He ignores the dark glare on his ghost self's face.

"I said yeah to one date, but I'm mostly going to be too busy to go on any more." She shrugged, smiling at him. "Aaaw, are you worried about me?"

Tsuna blushed, glaring at her. "Of course not! You can take care of yourself, so you don't need me to do anything for you!"

 _'So those times you threatened those boys' family jewels to protect your sister's honor doesn't count?'_ Yoshi asked, grinning at him.

' _That is a whole different subject,'_ Tsuna retorted, turning back to his desk once his sister left the room. "Besides," he said aloud, glaring at where the ghost floated, "it was you who possessed my body to do that. Now my own body goes against my wishes and does it from muscle memory."

' _Keep tellin yourself that, kid. Whatever makes you sleep at night.'_

.

The two made it a point to jog to school early in the morning before club duties. It helped keep them in shape, and it also helped Tsuna calibrate his body for the day to keep him from being clumsy (even if he still had his moments).

While Tsuna wore the standard Nami-chuu gym clothes, Maria chose to wear her personified workout outfit. It was mainly a tank top and track pants that had the word 'TRAINER' with a pokeball on the left leg of the pants.

"Which route are we going to take?" Maria asked. She began her stretches, Yoshi peering at her like the pervert he was. Tsuna mentally reprimanded him- he really hated Yoshi when he did things like this.

"We'll do the straight line route," Tsuna replied, beginning his own stretches. He ignored what Yoshi said, starting to jog in place to warm up. "You ready?"

"Parkour today?" Maria mumbled. She nodded her had after a minute. "Yeah, let's get going then." She made to start before Tsuna stopped her.

"Before we end up racing against each other," Tsuna said, narrowing his eyes at the unrepentant smirk his sister gave him, "you gotta be sure to change right when we get there. Straight to the bathroom and into your uniform. Senpai expects you at the club room before school starts."

"What are you, my secretary?" Maria asks, rolling her eyes before she turned and promptly began to run.

Tsuna sighs but doesn't dally, knowing that his sister would hold her win against him for weeks (if she managed a win). He sprints, planning a route in his head that leads him to the roofs. He can see his sister doing the same thing, climbing up a wall and running along the narrow edge.

Their neighbors wave at them as they run past, Tsuna grabbing at the pastry Senri-san from the bakery tosses at him. He stumbles and manages to catch his footing, but Maria is sprinting now and the gates to the school are coming up.

Mentally sighing, Tsuna jumps off the building when he notices his sister slowing down, her breathing hard and her face bright with sweat. He felt just as sweaty but not as tired, so made his own sprint to the gates.

"Oi!"

Grinning, Tsuna slid to a stop, swinging around to look at his sister's indignant face. She pouts, narrowing her eyes at him while he meekly holds up the paper bag bearing Tajima Senri's bakery logo.

"I'll have you know that I'm not a sore loser and that you can't bribe me _again_." With that said, Maria stomps her way into the school.

"Don't forget to change!" Tsuna calls to her back. She merely waves a hand at him, not bothering to turn and answer.

 _"You know-,"_ Yoshi starts, but Tsuna stops him with a hand.

"Stop saying perverted things about my sister. You're dead and I'm not into incest."

 _"It's not even incest,"_ the ghost grumbled, narrowing his eyes at him. _"You're not even related. Ugh, kids these days…"_

.

"Sawada, where have you been?"

Tsuna flinched, turning to look at his leader's expressionless face. He debated whether or not it was a good time to run.

"I'm not letting you go until you give me an answer." The glint of metal hidden in sleeves was a warning to Tsuna's enhanced senses.

"I had class, sempai." Best to stick to the truth, yeah?

"You've been excused from all your classes," his sempai said, stalking towards him. "Are you hiding from work? _Tell me the truth_."

"I _am_ telling you the truth!" Tsuna exclaimed, back up towards the wall. Damn it- he let himself get cornered. Sempai wasn't going to let him forget his surroundings again, _he'd make sure of it_. "My marks have been getting low, so I had to go to class and ask sensei what I've been missing! Hibari-sempai, stop!"

"As Student Council President from Namimori Middle, you need to be on top of work. I'll do my best to keep you fit." The bloodthirsty grin on Hibari Kyoya's face frightened Tsuna no matter how many times he was witness to it. Even when he wasn't the victim of his sempai's anger Tsuna still managed to be scared.

"I cleared up my schedule just to attend classes! Sempai!"

"A-am I interrupting something?"

The two turned towards the door of the classroom Hibari'd gotten Tsuna cornered in. Maria stood there, several girls behind her holding fabric and sewing supplies.

"Secretary." Hibari greeted, stowing his tonfa. "You have work to complete."

"What?" Maria asked, blinking slowly. "I just finished everything that needed to be done this morning. How can there be more paperwork now?"

"Sempai," a girl pipes in from the crowd behind her, "we can start everything ourselves and you can go with Hibari-san. We can handle setup and stuff."

"What?" Maria says again, turning now to look at Tsuna. "I blame you. Why are you two here anyway?"

"You told me to meet you here!" Tsuna exclaims at the same time as Hibari's, "I tracked Sawada here."

"Kaicho, I'll meet you at the club room," Maria tells Hibari, placing the bolts of fabric onto a desk. "Tsuna, one of the girls has your costume. It needs to be adjusted so you need to try it on, yeah?"

Tsuna grumbles but follows Junko-san from his class to where the finished costumes are being hung. He hates skipping classes for Student Council meetings. He also hates getting tracked by Hibari-sempai.

He thinks back to when he first joined the Student Council. Hiroto Kosuke was the previous President until he was deposed due to bad habits (as in Hibari did not approve of his stupid ideas and beat him out of it). Tsuna, as the younger brother to the Disciplinary Head's secretary, was recommended by his peers as the next president. He had no say in the matter, of course, and was elected.

He was basically the sheep offered up for sacrifice.

Things miraculously worked out. Tsuna, with the help of Yoshi, managed to whip the rest of the Student Council members into shape (but not literally whip them despite Yoshi's sadistic tendencies). With Nami-Middle's Student Council stabilized and efficient with their duties in the school, the High School decided to give them a hand with their Disciplinary Problems…

…which led to Hibari Kyoya, the Head of the Disciplinary Committee, being the enforcer of the Middle School… and all of Namimori. Actually, Tsuna was pretty sure that the Hibari family was the main protection against all wrong-doing in Namimori.

 _'I've actually never seen Hibari-san's parents before, though…'_ Tsuna thought, looking to where his sister and sempai stood talking in the hallway.

 _"Tsuna,"_ Yoshi hisses in his ear, glaring at the duo. _"He's poaching on our girl! I can tell it! Look at those two, standing together and being too buddy-buddy!"_

' _She's my sister, lalalala can't hear you over the SOUND OF MY THOUGHTS!'_ Tsuna focused on the dress he wore. Huh, he actually had some nice legs…

 _"I am your thoughts you idiot!"_ Yoshi swiped a fist at his head, Tsuna only feeling cold pass through him. _"Dammit. This is the problem with alternate realities- you can't react with your own self."_

' _LALALALALA!'_

"Sawada-kun, you're done." Tsuna blinked, turning to look at his classmate. "You can change now that we got it fitted."

"Ah, thank you." Tsuna nodded, marching to where the curtains the girls had set up for changing was.

"Tsuna!" He heard his sister call. "When you're done, go to your Student Council and have class 2C's room changed to the second floor of building B. Kaicho's orders, yeah?"

"Got it," Tsuna called back. He sighed.

 _"You know,"_ Yoshi sing-songs, pushing his face into view, _"sooner or later, someone's going to come and take our pretty Maria away, and what will happen then, huh?"_

 _'…she's my sister.'_ By the grin on Yoshi's corporeal face, Tsuna knew his protest sounded weak.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he gave his farewells to the group of girls and made his way to his club room. He had a Festival to organize…

.

.

.

* * *

 **AN:** Sooo... yeah sorry with the late chapter. Real life is trying and getting time to escape into writing is bluh.

So! We have genderfluid!Maria and sorta!yandere!Tsuna. We also have ghost!Tsuna, who is referred to as Yoshi and is actually Tsuna's 5 years later self, not 10yl, which will be explained in later chapters. I'm just starting with the introduction here, and it doesn't even show the major changes I made. I think the first chapter's ending was a bit cheesy, but eehhh...

Tsuna's into cosplay which is only because his sister is a weeb. The story will get a bit dark sooner or later, and there will be crack because I can't explain several scenes I want to add other than because crack.

Thank you lurkers and favoriters and followers, and reviews are welcome yeah!


	3. The Beginning of Her

**Warnings:** bullying, physical violence, sibling fight, and Hibari

* * *

The halls were empty at this time in the morning. I meandered through them, peeking into empty classrooms and observing the changes that occurred in them through the week.

The school was quiet, the soft morning light bathing the halls and slowly warming places it hit. I smiled to myself, quickening my pace, eager to reach my destination.

The room I was headed to was located in a wing of the school reserved for one particular club in which I was the secretary of. There was another room in the main building that served as my President's own personal room, but I hardly ever bothered going there. I managed the files of the club, meaning all the blackmail material I could gather on anyone the President wanted. The President handled managing everything personally along with his followers.

As the secretary and only female part of Hibari Kyoya's retinue, of which he had only one other person, I, too, had my own following.

Steeling my face and evaporating myself of all emotion, I opened the door to the club room. The minimal amount of chatter in the room ceased, my followers all quickly standing at attention. A majority of them were female with only four boys adding to the ranks. I waved them off, striding towards the far side of the room where lavish furniture lay decorated.

The Vice President, Kusakabe Tetsuya, was already working, seated at his desk and going over papers. He looked up as I stood before him, nodding his head towards my followers.

Holding in my sigh, I turned towards the two pompadour-headed boys guarding our section of the room. "Set up the screens," I ordered, observing them as they immediately jumped to action. The foldup bamboo screens were taken from where they lay next to the walls, immediately put into place.

Nodding in satisfaction, Tetsuya waved his hands at the boys. "Become empty vessels," he demanded, his eyes narrowed until they undid their ties and fastened them around their eyes. The kanji for 'nothing' was stitched to the inside of the ties, which they faced outward.

I made my way to the counter behind the desks, towards the already steaming pot of water. "Tea, Vice Pres?" I asked, setting up a tray for two without waiting for his reply.

"Thank you," Tetsuya said, taking the cup of hot barley tea. "You've managed to report to Hibari-san already, yes?"

"Yes," I say, leaning against my desk. "He looked at the reports about the yakuza that moved into town. We might have to deal with them sooner than we thought we should."

"And the bribes?"

I hid my smirk behind my teacup, blowing at the steam wafting from the brew. "Our funds are sure to increase, no worries there. Our men and women in the police force pooled together a large donation for our base of operations. They were so grateful for our help with past affairs."

Tetsuya nodded, a small smile on his face. "Good job as always, Maria-kun." I grinned, seating myself at my desk. "You have some mail from your contact in Deimon, by the way."

"Aah, the hubby!" I exclaimed, smiling goofily. "Or, well, my soon to be hubby… as soon as I get him to sign that marriage contract…"

"You will never succeed Maria-kun."

"Aah, seems like Hiruma-san managed to obtain giant secrets on the big guys here in town. Still can't get anything on Hibari-san, though, heh."

"I'm happy to see that my skills are impeccable."

"You're awesome, Tetsuya-san," I praised, grinning at him. He smirked back.

"Anything else of import?"

"Mm, well, looks like we need to up security around the shrines. One of my contacts was mugged recently, and he's out of work while recovering."

"I'll send the appropriate forces out."

"That's all for now, then." I yawned, stretching my arms. "Is there anything I need to bring to the Main Office before I bring these reports to Hibari-san?"

"The packet on the Outgoing shelf over there." Tetsuya waved his hand at the rack of files, eyes already roving over his own paperwork. "Enjoy your day."

"Thank you," I replied, gathering my bag and the papers I needed. "Have a nice day."

I exited the room, the boys guarding the room moving the partition aside. My followers gave small smiles and waves as I made my way out. I maintained a slight smile, giving small nods to each follower I passed.

Sighing, I let the door close behind me, rolling my eyes at the thought of yet another boring day of school. I could always skip like Hibari-san did, but then he was crazy smart and I had only the memories of a past life who spent her school years ignoring math.

I buried those memories, focusing instead on making my way to the Main Office. I hated lingering on those memories- they weren't mine, and they weren't important in this life. I could make my way in this place on my own without influence from that person I was before. She was a weak, weak woman who could not hold her own against others, and for that, I hated her.

I could not stand to be that same person again.

"Ah, Sawada-chan, good morning." Mifune-sensei, the new Principal we had recently hired, was a welcome addition to the school. She knew what needed to be done without any need for interference or some sort of coercion.

I smiled at her, bowing slightly. It was best to show respect to those who were competent and worked hard. She earned my respect. "Good morning Mifune-san. How is everything?"

"Ahh, busy as always. Ara, are those for me?" I nodded, handing the packet to her.

"Apologies for the addition of paperwork to your already busy schedule. We've gotten an increase of funds for the library and to repair the school buildings- particularly replacing our rusted fences and such."

"That's great news!" Mifune-san exclaimed, smiling happily. "The paperwork's a downer, but a necessity as always, hah… Ah! I'll leave you to continue your route. Enjoy your day!"

I waved goodbye to the blue-haired principal, smiling slightly. It was kind of tiring maintain a cool personality while at school, but Hibari-san and Tetsuya-san expected much from me, and it would not do to let the reputation of our Committee fall.

I started walking once more- this time towards the Reception room that we used as Hibari-san's office. Students were starting to fill the halls, many of them arriving from morning practice for clubs. Many of them greeted me with wide smiles and exclamations. I acknowledged them with a simple smile and nod.

I exited the High School building and made my way to the Middle School one. Namimori's an elevator school, and Primary to High School buildings were situated right beside each other. Tetsuya-kun mainly controlled the High School while I oversaw the Primary School, and Hibari-san took command in the Middle School. The Middle School was located in the middle of the entire school block, and it also held the largest rooms and was the main location for all the teachers and administrators for all three schools.

I had no need for much discipline in the Primary School, but I still had followers stationed there. They reported regularly on the goings on of the school, but it was mainly in Hibari-san and Tetsuya-kun's areas that trouble happened. I helped whoever needed it, which rarely happened, so I was stuck doing deskwork most of the time.

"Secretary."

I snapped out of my thoughts, jerking to a stop at the sight of Hibari-san's grey eyes glaring at me. "K-Kaichou!" I bowed slightly, holding the packets out to him. "I've got reports from Hiruma-kun. You've got business in town that needs dealing with."

"Interesting."

' _Damnit, Maria- you made him interested in something._ ' I smiled awkwardly, resisting the urge to scratch the back of my neck. "Another sighting of Yakuza trying to worm their way into Namimori. I've arranged it so that you could destroy their temporary base near the old shrine heading towards Kokuyo. One of my contacts was recently mugged, so I increased patrols around the Shrine up north."

"Kusakabe will be coming with me. Bring your _naginata_ and tell your guard cat to come along _or else_."

"He's not my- Ahh, mou, okay Hibari-san. When will we be leaving?" ' _Please not now, please not now…_ '

"This afternoon." With his speaking quota over for the day, Hibari-san turned and walked away. I sighed.

' _Great, now Tsuna will be mad and everything I planned for today will be ruined…_ 'I reluctantly followed after Hibari-san, making my way to Tsuna's classroom.

My adopted brother is a great one. He's loving, kind, and protective. He panics when I cry, buys me sweets when it's my time of the month, and is an overall cinnamon roll. Too good, too pure for this world. We have our moments when we fight, and sometimes he can be too annoying with his clumsiness and over-protectiveness. I hate when he has to follow me when I want to go places with friends, and I hate that he's prettier than me.

I love Tsuna though. He's such a great brother- so much more different than Xanxus was.

My eyes grew half-lidded at the thought of my dead brother. There was a tight knot in my chest and something dangerous in my gut that made me want to scream, like it always became when I thought of him.

Xanxus was such a tall figure in my memories. He could do no wrong and was the strongest person alive. My delusions were shattered when Papa, Xanxus's father, told me that he died during a mission. I could barely remember the last time I saw him or spoke to him. I don't even remember getting a reason why I couldn't go to his funeral, or stay with Lussuria and Squalo and the others.

All my questions would go unanswered- all the mail I received from Italy stopped the moment I turned ten. I don't know why, and frankly, I don't care anymore. It still hurts, but I have a new life now.

A better life with the Sawadas.

The name given to me by Nana was Chiyohime, Chi-chan for short. I was still referred to as Maria by everyone else, but my adopted family gave me that name. Chiyohime. Chiyohime, Chiyohime, Chiyohime.

I loved that this name was private. An intimate form of acknowledgement from this new family that struggled to learn Italian just as I struggled to learn Japanese.

"Maria?"

I stifled my surprise and smiled instead. When did I reach the Student Council room…?

"Hi, Tsu-kun. We've got an appointment at lunch with Hibari-san." I cut straight to the point, knowing Tsuna would appreciate that I didn't beat around the bush.

"What!?" Tsuna exclaimed, pulling at his hair. His happy demeanor quickly diminished, an aura of gloom appearing around him. I could just imagine a black cloud hanging over his head. "Why is this so last minute!? Why me!?"

"Well, I'm being forced to go, too. If I suffer, I would like someone to suffer with me."

"Don't be so selfish Maria…" Tsuna grumbled, looking up at me with his big, honey brown eyes. I shrugged, smiling awkwardly.

"Best to get ready, ne?"

"Maria…" Tsuna's eyes flash gold in the light, like it always does when he starts to get serious. When he's angry, they turn orange, like fire. "I can always talk to Hibari-san if you don't like going to these things…"

I giggle when I'm nervous, which is what I do and what I currently am. "Don't be silly, Tsuna. I _have_ to go. It's in my job description." It's in my best interests that I stay an asset to Hibari-san. I know this, and Tsuna knows it, too. The last and most terrifying of incidents of girls bullying me because I was a foreigner was still strong in our minds. It will never, _ever_ happen again as long as I am in Hibari-san's care.

"I can protect you!" Tsuna blurts just as I am turning to leave, the tension becoming awkward. "What those girls did- I promise you that it won't happen! Nothing will hurt you." Tsuna's voice is firm, not like his normal, shaky tone. My body is frozen, though, and I can't turn back to look at him. "Maria."

I can hear the unspoken demand to turn back and look at him, but memories are already rushing through my mind. Eight girls, all of them pretty and Japanese, taunting me until I nearly died. I used to have long hair until one of them cut it back at the start of Middle School. I wore glasses until I had to get contacts because they kept getting stolen or broken. The last incident- blood on my legs, my arms, in my mouth, throats raw from screaming and crying, the smell of piss and trash and the feel _of disgusting h-_ …

"Maria!"

Tsuna pulls my arm, forcing me to face him. His eyes blaze a burning orange in their intensity, his stare seeming as if he were looking into my soul.

"I'm going back to the Primary School," I force out through gritted teeth, glaring at him and daring him to keep me there. "You can stay here, but Hibari-san will fight you if you don't show up."

"And you won't stay at school?" Tsuna asks, narrowing his eyes at me. "I thought you loved going to class?"

"Honestly?" I spat, baring my teeth at him now. "I'm happy that I don't have to attend class anymore. Fuck everyone there." I scowled at him, shoving him away from me. "You're not strong like Hibari-san, you can't help me. You never noticed."

"Damnit, I don't want you to get mad at me!" Tsuna exclaims, scowling back at me. "I'm sorry for not noticing sooner, okay!? You never spoke about it, so you have as much blame!"

"How could I have said anything when you were being bullied, too!?" I shout back at him. Red bloomed across his cheeks, staining his pale skin red. "Mama was already stressed from you coming home with bruises, why should I have added to that!?"

My fists are clenched so tight I'm surprised that I'm not bleeding. Tsuna's hands grip at the sleeves of his oversized jumper, the threads at the end already fraying.

"I'm leaving." I say, heading out of the room. "I'm not going to talk to you for the rest of the day, so don't bother. I will be going to that _appointment_ , and that is final."

"I'm sorry," Tsuna says, but I ignore him and stride out, sliding the door shut with a bang.

I stand in the hallway trying to calm myself, willing my shaking fists to stop. The inside of my lip is bleeding from where I bit it, the taste of copper filling my mouth. I lock the memories trying to spring up back into the box I kept it in, shoving it down and hiding it under happier memories.

 _'The adoption, when I became Sawada Maria. When Mama called me Chiyo-chan, when Ie-tou-san called me baby girl, when Tsuna called me Nee-chan…_ '

"Maria-chan?"

I turned, locking eyes with a familiar face. "Hana-chan," I greeted, smiling softly. "How are you?"

"Just fine," she said, walking closer to me. "You look not so fine, though. Anything wrong?"

"A lot of things," I sighed, scratching my neck. _'Ah, shit, need to break bad habits, ughhh…_ '

"Sucks," Hana replied, frowning. "We have cake day with Kyoko on Saturday, so don't go binge-eating on anything without us or you'll feel bad and not have anyone to rant to."

I grin. "Okay, Hana. Go and turn in your reports to your president now, though. Classes will start soon."

"They've already started," Hana scoffed, flipping her hair back. "Nobody cares though, since I'm Student Council Vice-President. I'm also in your good graces, so there's that, too."

"Have a good day, Hana," I drawled out, grinning at her as she waved me away. My mood slightly lifted, I started walking towards Hibari-san's office on the second floor. The DC members I passed gave me brief bows before returning to their patrol, pompadours bouncing slightly as they walked.

I knocked once, waited a second, and then entered the office. Hibari-san was lounging on his couch, feet propped on the coffee table, which was scattered with papers.

"Sawada," Hibari-san greeted, slate grey eyes roving over my form. "Oh? You look ready to fight." There was approval in his tone, the ghost of a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"Ready as ever, Hibari-san." I grabbed a pillow from under the table, setting it down to kneel on. I stilled my twitching fingers, setting them on my lap. "…"

"Stupid," Hibari-san huffed, pulling his feet off the table. "Come."

I stubbornly sat kneeling on the pillow, giving up when I caught Hibari-san's eyes. "…I'll make some tea first."

"Are you attempting to revert back to an herbivore?"

"Is it just me or are you trying to tease me, Hibari-san?" I kept my tone light, but a muscle under my eye was twitching and my hand was itching towards the knife I kept strapped under my skirt. I was far from a match to Hibari-san, but he did fight with me and train me to get stronger.

"I will hit you," he threatens, eyes narrowed at me. I grin, bringing the tray of tea to where he sat. Green tea for Hibari-san, and some chamomile with honey for me. "Will you fight today?" He asks, accepting the cup I offered.

"I think no-,"

"You will," he interrupts, daring me to refuse. ' _What's the point of asking me, then?'_

I stare into my tea, breathing in the scent of chamomile. It reminded me of mornings, of coming home with muscles aching from exercise to find Mama with two cups, one for me and one for her. When Hibari-san recruited me, the first thing I took advantage of was the tea he provided.

Hibari-san takes my silence as acceptance, looking away from me and beginning to read the reports placed on the coffee table. I let my thoughts start to wander, memories drifting to the surface of my mind.

I think I was eleven when I first met Hibari-san. He had been terrorizing the rest of our grade, putting the upstarts down. I was having fun being the only foreigner in our class, my natural curls and brown skin setting me apart from everyone else.

In middle school, Hibari-san instantly created the Disciplinary Committee and took over the school. He was met with plenty of resistance by everyone, but then he amassed a following and the school takeover was successful. At that time, we had gotten some new transfers to the school, which was strange since Namimori was an elevator school, and I was the last known transfer to the place. I was already the norm there, but the two girl transfers had some sort of belief about me that ended up recruiting six other girls to bully me.

I spent seven months being bullied until the culmination, where I finally met Hibari-san in person. Granted, the situation I'd been in was _definitely not_ pretty, and Hibari-san had to fight me to stop me from hurting everyone around me. After I got out of the hospital, he recruited me as his Secretary. I had to scramble keeping up with him, but it was either sink or swim with Hibari-san, and if you sank he would personally drown you to save himself the trouble.

I wanted to be someone worthy of standing beside Hibari-san. He forced me to train with him, made me fight him until the bloodlust erupted. He made me make widespread connections (although these were actually made because I was scared of going to jail or facing legal repercussion because of Hibari-san's actions) that spanned all the way to Deimon, where I met the famed Devil, Hiruma Yoichi-kun.

Even now, Hibari-san was helping me grow. I was too scared to ask him why he kept helping me when everyone only knew him as that scary loner tyrant who hates groups of people and being controlled. So far, only Tetsuya-san, Tsuna, and I were able to work with Hibari-san and adapt to his style of fighting. Only Tetsuya-san knew more than I about him.

I thought about how he referred to groups of people as herbivores, and his catchphrase 'I'll bite you to death'.

"If I were an animal," I mumbled, biting my lip, "what would I be…?"

"You're asking?" I failed to control my flinch, eyes darting up to Hibari-san.

"Just… wondering," I said, slowly turning my gaze down to my cold tea.

"A bird," Hibari-san says. I avoid looking at him. "Well?"

I smile. "I think I would make a great osprey, don't you think?"

"Hardly. You're still a sparrow."

"W-wha…"

"Let's go. It's time to destroy those annoying intruders."

"Hibari-san, our backup-,"

"Leave them. I'll handle it myself."

"H-hai!"

* * *

 **AN:** So what do you think Hibari is doing training her and making her strong? Here we have bullying gone extreme for the adopted Sawada and a look into her duties as DC secretary. Anyone else get that Feudal feel with the whole 'become empty vessels' phrase? Kusakabe thought it would be cool so that's how it goooeeesss. Also, blackmail is their insurance/leverage in getting Hibari out of deep shit.

also, Hibari and Maria are sorta friends. yey.

leave a review please? I'd like some nice words and constructive criticism to help me.

also my home was ravaged by a typhoon pretty bad so updates will be even slower than usual sorry.


	4. Prelude to Daily Life

**AN:** Warnings: uhh, yes.

I'm sorry for the wait everyone, but real life is a bitch and I nearly died. Who knew freezing rain after getting my ass kicked was bad for your health?

* * *

 _"You really are a useless child…"_

.

Tsuna woke up to an action scene.

In all actuality, he woke up staring at the pages of Jojo that he'd been reading before he fell asleep. Dio was posing, Jotaro was posing, it was all very action-y.

 _'…damn it. I can't even focus on my manga…'_ Sighing, Tsuna took the book off his face and placed it to the side.

"About time you woke up, prez."

Tsuna held back a groan, looking to the side where his vice-president stood. "Hana-chan, hi."

"You should sound more enthusiastic that I came here to save the day," Hana drawled, frowning and wrinkling her nose at him. "How long has it been already? Ricchan was still mad on cake day, too."

"Its been eleven days and counting," Tsuna mumbled, "and I've been doing nothing to annoy her."

"She still seems pretty annoyed to me," Hana mused. She leant against the side of his desk, her eyes narrowed at him. "Are you gonna tell me now what you said to piss her off so much?"

"It was stupid and I apologized and I don't need your help." Tsuna swirled around, his swivel chair helping him cruise to the other side of the room.

"Your loss, President." Huffing, his Vice-President made an about face and stalked back to her desk. "I'll give you one small advice just because you're not a giant monkey and its kinda' sad to look at you right now." Hana smirked at him, waiting until he finally lifted his eyes and looked at her. "Even if you haven't done anything to annoy her, what _have_ you done?"

"…" Tsuna glared at her. "What kind of advice is that? That sounds too cryptic to be advice."

Hana groaned, head plonking onto her desk. "I change my mind. You're the King of Monkey Mountain. You'll be President Son Goku, the biggest monkey of them all."

"Hana-chan…? Hana-chan, where are you going? Hacchan…!" Tsuna's whine was cut off, the door slamming closed as Hana stomped out. Grinning a little, Tsuna turned back to his thoughts.

' _What have I_ not _done…?'_

" _You can be pretty stupid, y'know that Tsu-chan?"_ Mentally groaning, Tsuna willed the ghost away. _"I heard that you little ass-monkey. Ass-monkey kind, haha, lol."_

"That's not how you… Nevermind, I don't want to bother myself with this."

" _Tsu-chan, ya' gotta be more assertive. Give our big sister some flowers and a nice big kiss on the-,"_

"Incest," Tsuna interrupted, gritting his teeth in irritation, "is not something I want to deal with. How the fuck are we even the same person?"

 _"Ah ah ah,"_ Yoshi tutted, waving a pointer finger in the air, _"I'm sure mom would love to give you the Talk,"_ Tsuna shuddered, _"and explaining how hormones can change how you look and think and act and-,"_

"I get it!" Tsuna exclaimed, covering his ears and avoiding the intense glare from his dead future counterpart. "Sorry, but I don't want to hear anymore!"

"Sawada."

"Lalala, I can't hear anything. You're just a figment of my imagination!" Tsuna yelped at the metal tonfa embedded into his desk. An inch more and it would have hit his head.

"Kusakabe will be taking you on his patrol. Do not be late." Catching the narrowed grey eyes of the DC leader, Tsuna merely nodded, smiling wanly as Hibari left.

 _"Wow, you made a mess of things as usual, huh?"_

"Yoshi, I am so not in the mood to deal with you."

 _"Ugh, such a killjoy. If I weren't already dead, I would die from exposure to your attitude. You should pull out that stick you've got shoved up your ass."_

Tsuna pondered over the difference between him and Yoshi. Wasn't he the same as Tsuna when he was his age? What made him lose his composure and turn into a perverted happy-go-lucky idiot?

Tsuna shook his head and exited his office. Kusakabe-san got crotchety when anyone was late. Grabbing his hand-cuffs and stuffing his throwing darts into a pouch strapped to his thigh, he started his patrol.

.

* * *

.

Sawada Maria was not having a good time. Kuroko-san, the teacher for the kindergarten class in the primary school, was out sick, and no one was able to take over his class. That left the Disciplinary leader for the Primary school, which she was, to watch the class.

Maria loved kids, don't get her wrong, but she didn't like having to teach them life lessons when she already had a massive pile of paperwork to complete.

Also, Kuroko-san wasn't there for her to moon over. The bluenette with his gentle eyes and demeanor and cute face and nice butt and…

"Sensei," a little kid piped up, snapping Maria out of her thoughts, "you're drooling."

"Eew," another kid chimed in, her face screwing up.

"Quiet, children," Maria droned, subtly wiping her cheek. _'That lying twerp.'_

"Sensei, when is Kuroko-sensei coming back?" A kid at the back asked, frowning cutely.

"I already told you he'll be coming in tomorrow," she nearly groaned at the stubborn look of the student's face. "C'mon, let's just start our next lesson, okay?"

"Yes, sensei," the students chorused, some still wearing stubborn pouts on their faces. Maria smiled wryly, turning to face the whiteboard.

.

"Sensei, something went boom."

"Yes, Hanako-chan, we all heard that."

"Mama said things don't normally go boom when I told her that last time."

"Toushiro-kun, Namimori is normal in our own way."

"Sensei, I saw the Big Boss throw someone outside the window!"

"That happened last week, Kina-chan, it's nothin' new."

"Everyone please focus on your work, we've got pictures to make for you parents!"

"Yes, sensei."

" _I hate Wednesdays_ …"

.

.

The Sawada girl walked towards the High school once her class let out for the day, taking her time to enjoy the blooming flowers she had helped the gardening club plant earlier in the spring. She ignored the holes punched into the walls of the Middle School building along with the bloodstains on the dirt.

" _He's such a useless child,"_ The voice in her head hissed. She could imagine long claws digging into her scalp from where she imagined it to hang on her head. " _Can't even save his fucking sister from fucking high school girls."_

"Tsuna's…" Maria trailed off, thinking of times he came to save her. Only the times he failed managed to float to the surface of her thoughts. "He's still a good brother."

 _"Oh no no no no, nooo,_ " The voice in her head sung, " _After all,_ _ **I'm**_ _the one that knows what he will become._ I _am the one who lives on while_ he _is stuck to the past."_

"Things are different now," She protested, trying to ignore the images of the future the voice was arousing. "The future doesn't scare me at all."

" _Keep tellin' yourself that, honey. Blood is Blood, after all, and you an' Tsuna? You two are_ not _blood."_

"You keep going back to blood," Maria muttered, eyes flickering around her surroundings, searching for anyone who could maybe hear her. "Blood means nothing as long as there is love."

" _You don't know what kind of love you're trying to hold onto,"_ the voice warned, its voice dangerously low. " _You don't know what will happen to us."_

"The future is not set in stone," she replied evenly, her face darkening at the images she had buried deep in her brain. "I've already changed so many things… I'll keep changing things as long as I'm safe- as long as my _family_ is safe."

 _"Oh, you're such a cutie girl,"_ the voice cooed, cackling shortly after. _"So adorable how you hold onto your delusions, how you believe that your fantasies will come true. I can_ recall _the look on my face when my world came crashing down around me."_

"Shut up," Maria grit out. Her hands shook slightly, eyes beginning to burn when the voice continued to cackle.

She walked into an empty classroom, locking the door. Eyes closed, she willed herself to stop shaking, to keep her tears at bay. When that failed- when she felt the icy track of tears trail down her face- she slid to the ground, tucking her legs so that her knees were pressed to her face.

Quietly, she cried.

.

.

* * *

.

In a different world, Sawada Maria hated Sasagawa Kyoko. She was smart, pretty, popular, and genuinely sweet and caring. She was all the things that Maria was not.

In a different world, Maria did not meet Sasagawa Kyoko, and that was why she hated her.

In this world, when Maria sequestered herself in an empty classroom and thought to have locked the door, she did not check to see if someone saw her. She did not see the pretty underclassman spot her going into the empty room, her eyes red and hands shaking.

Kyoko, being a genuinely sweet person who worried for others with no thought to their status or character, had rushed to check on her sempai. Maybe she overworked herself, or maybe someone bullied her again, or maybe maybe maybe…

The door was locked, but Kyoko knew this classroom. She visited this class afterschool when Hinako-chan wanted her help with club duties. She remembered Hinako-chan accidentally locking the door, but if you jiggled it _just_ right…

There! With a _swish_ , the door slid open, and Kyoko was staring at the tear-streaked face of the sempai she barely knew, and her soon to be friend. Brows creased in worry but with a small, gentle smile on her face, the younger girl slid the door shut behind her, kneeling to the ground.

Sawada Maria was a distant, emotionless figure, much like her President. Her sempai right now, though, was a girl in pain, and Kyoko hated seeing others in pain.

.

.

* * *

 **AN:** So, there, that's all I wrote. So far. I have much more planned. Next chapter starts the Daily Life arc, and then things change, like, majorly. Wooooo, time for y'all to reviiieewwww.  
please, your feedback is my motivation to write.


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